Background Information on the Rodin Remediation Academy

The Rodin Remediation Academy is an international association dedicated to promoting research of dyslexia through the creation of an interdisciplinary scientific forum. Since its establishment in 1984, the Academy has held 24 conferences and symposia, at which scientists have been able to communicate ideas about developing theories of dyslexia, advancements in methodology, and disseminate pertinent information to parents, teachers, and physicians about the causes and treatments of dyslexia. The Academy was founded by Dr. Per Uddin, a generous individual with dyslexia who dedicated a great deal of time, energy, and financial resources to promote understanding of dyslexia. Following a decline in his health and his unfortunate death a few years ago, the Academy is no longer able to fund the Rodin Conference. There have been four conferences since the end of Dr. Uddin's sponsorship in 1997, all of which have been funded through other means. Despite this change in financial resources, the leadership of the Academy still provides the ideological and philosophical goals necessary to unite the global dyslexia community.

A principal objective of the Rodin Academy and the Rodin Conference is a commitment to recognizing and encouraging the work of promising young scientists working in the field of dyslexia. The mentoring, recruiting, and advising of trainees is a continuing responsibility of senior researchers. The future of dyslexia research is dependent upon the adequate training of students who are interested in the field. A scientific conference provides trainees and students with the opportunity to observe leading dyslexia scientists express their devotion to the study of dyslexia, and witness the dyslexia community share ideas in a non-competitive and constructive environment. Students will be inspired by the accomplishments of well-established scientists at the conference and will be exposed to the most cutting-edge and exciting research in the field. The Rodin conference provides an excellent forum for young scientists who wish to establish themselves in the field of dyslexia research. At each conference, the Academy presents the Norman Geschwind-Rodin Prize to a young scientist. This $5000 award honors a postdoctoral fellow who has published an outstanding piece of research; the recipient is recognized at a special ceremony at the Rodin conference.

The theme of this year's conference was "Neural Basis of Skill Acquisition, Reading, and Dyslexia." Learning to read can be considered a special case of skill acquisition, possibly sharing similar mechanisms of development with other acquired skills. With the relatively recent improvements in imaging technology, namely fMRI, researchers are now able to safely scan subjects on a more frequent basis, allowing for longitudinal experimental designs, offering insight into the neurobiological changes resulting from skill learning. Considering reading ability in the broader context of skill acquisition may offer a mutual benefit to the understanding of both reading acquisition as well as skill acquisition in general. As research continues to reveal the specific functional and neuroanatomical changes underlying the process of learning to read, physicians and teachers will be able to improve remediation techniques and instructional approaches.